Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta has announced an $8 million grant from the Atlanta-based Robert W. Woodruff Foundation for construction of an inter-professional simulation lab in the university's planned Education Commons building.

The lab, which will be used by various health profession disciplines at the university, will feature state-of-the-art standardized patient rooms and high-fidelity patient simulators. Total construction cost for the five-story, 160,000-square-foot Education Commons building, which will include classroom space for GHSU's College of Dental Medicine and Medical College of Georgia, is estimated to be $76.5 million.

"Partnerships like this one with the Woodruff Foundation are critical in advancing the vision of Georgia Health Sciences to be a globally recognized research university and academic health center, while transforming the region into a healthcare and biomedical research destination," said GHSU president Ricardo Azziz. "Research has repeatedly shown that students and clinicians trained with simulation demonstrate markedly better knowledge, skills, and behaviors at the bedside."